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choose your summer reading

If you’re in the habit of reading lots of fiction, you’re in the minority—and ahead of the game. You’re already reaping the many significant benefits of reading for your body, your brain, and your emotional and social well-being.

If you tend to stick to non-fiction, however, or most of your reading involves a digital device, now may be the time to spruce up your reading habits.

Here are three things to keep in mind when deciding what to read next:

If you don’t know where to start, or what constitutes literary fiction, here are half a dozen suggestions—personal favorites I’ve read more than once—and a link to a post with their opening paragraphs:

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

The Fruit of Stone by Mark Spragg

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Time Will Darken It by William Maxwell

Who are your favorite authors and what novels have you read more than once?